


You will see better days

by Anonymous



Series: And so it goes again [2]
Category: Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!
Genre: Other, comedy with feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:03:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29773827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Antauri and  Mandarin are bad for each other. And maybe, thats a good thing.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------A continuation to "You`ve seen better days"
Series: And so it goes again [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188320
Comments: 6
Kudos: 4
Collections: anonymous





	1. Orange you glad I`m back?

**Author's Note:**

> This works is part of the series "And So It Goes Again"

Few dishes are as hard to digest as treason. It`s a deep wound whose cutting edge will always leave a bitter taste. Months will turn to years, and the years will turn to decades, and when you think you can ignore the pain and turn the page, something will bring back the memories and rub salt to injury.

Antauri had once again betrayed his trust.

"And what is _this_ supposed to mean?" Mandarin said, angrily pointing at the basket of vegetables in front of him. The offending fruits dared stay silent.

Antauri sighed, rubbing his frown "Mandarin, your diet has consisted of junk food for too long. I thought some healthier food would be good for you"

"Oh, now you care about my health? Where was that concern when you STABBED ME IN THE BACK?!"

Antauri rolled his eyes. It had taken him two weeks of inner conflict to come back. Two weeks walking the maze of emotions and moral dilemma that implied giving Mandarin a few hours of company, for old time`s sake. And he thought it`d be a nice gesture to bring him the take out he had mentioned before. But the menu in the fast food monopolies that plagued the city were... not good. And he already had a rather bad experience with greasy food.

Luckily, there was not shortcoming of greengrocers on Shuggazoom. And although taste had abandoned Antauri long ago, he still found joy in walking the colorful aisles of fresh fruits. He invested more time that he should in evaluating the texture of avocados, tapping watermelons and analizing the correct shade of red in the apples. He thought his ex-companion would appreciate having access to more nutritionally rich options after so long!

But Mandarin had other ideas, apparently. The enthusiasm he showed when Antauri appeared with a paper bag vanished the second he opened it. He remembered how Mandarin had always followed a strict diet, counting calories and making sure to keep his body in top notch condition. He never slacked off, never eated a single extra sweet, and made sure to include all the 7 food groups in the regular meals of the Hyperforce.

When did this happen?

Mandarin kept checking among the variety of greens, a sneer drawn on his face. And then he found it. The bane of his existence. The worst offense that Antauri could have brought to his very own house. Or cave, whatever.

Tangerines.

"Ah, great." he said, picking the citrus and putting it aside, "What’s the problem? Your new body didn’t have any saliva to spit on my face?"

Antauri had honestly forgotten about Mandarin life-long quarrel against tangerines. He had never hidden his contempt for them, but Antauri would not approve of rudeness like this when he had put his neck on the line to get here. "Why do you hate tangerines so much?"

"Because they are a weak, flimsy excuse of a fruit!

"... what?"

"Just look at this" Mandarin took the innocent orange ball and held it inches away from Antauri's face "To begin with, is not even a self-standing fruit on its own! is a sad, inferior copy of the respectable orange"

".... I see"

"Also, just look at its composition. Not only is easy to peel, It`s already divided into easy-to-serve pieces. Is practically begging to be eaten, it has no self-respect!"

"...Mhmm"

"Now, this" Mandarin said, as he picked up a pomegranate and held it at eye level, rotating it "This is what every fruit should aspire to be! A hard exterior, and just look at that strategically designed interior, is practically a fortress. It will make you work for every bite. Pomegranates build character" he finished with a satisfied smile.

"So it has nothing to do with your name?"

Mandarin froze. "No", he said between gritted teeth.

"Nothing at all?"

"Absolutely".

Silence fell upon the room, the atmosphere so tense that you could cut the air with a knife.

"Because I just think is very funny that -"

"DON`T YOU DARE ANTAURI!" Mandarin shouted, striking hard the table and smashing the tangerine . Juicy bits exploded into the air, splashing them both.

Antauri was the first to talk "You got something in your face"

“You too. Heh, and it's dirtying your shiny polish" Mandarin said mockingly

" Well... you don`t have to worry about that at least"

Mandarin raised an eyebrow.

" It blends perfectly with your color" Antauri said with a smirk.


	2. Silver is the New Black

_Another Failure_

Smoke plumes billows around him. The alarm sounds shrill while a red light flashes, lighting up the chaotic scene between blinks. With effort, the Alchemist slowly gets up, fighting the aching in his bones. He doesn`t really care about the failing tesla bolts, the incipient fires or the gauges spinning out of control. He knows the automatic repair systems will have his lab on working condition in just a few hours. He can fix that.

He can`t say the same about the Silver Monkey.

This was just another disaster in a long chain of setbacks. No matter how much he tries (And he has been trying for years now) he can`t get the automaton to function as he wants. _As it should_. Separately, all components perform wonderfully. Well-adjusted gears make the machine swift and fleet-footed. The most advanced ambient sensors lets it perceive the world around it with an accuracy far beyond human limits. A processor so massive and intricate that it can perfectly emulate the most complex organic neural activities.

And still, _a failure_.

He could spend the next decade programming a state-of-the-art AI capable of mimicking a self-sufficient thinking being, but still, it wouldn’t work. And he didn`t have another decade. He might not even have another month. Every passing moment, he can feel the darkness creeping closer and closer, binding him away from this world. The Alchemist barely has any time left and still the _damn machine_ doesn't work.

"Because is not a machine" he berates himself "This needs to be something more". Because if there is something he has learned in his years defying the relentless forces of the Dark Ones, is that the battle against them requires living energy. Soul, mind and body. Body he can easily built, mind he could replicate with software, but the soul...

The Alchemist stares at his drained hands. The skin is cracked and blackened. He looks at the thwarted project and clenches his fists. With a huff, he marches towards the table to begin the rebuilding process. A dead voice taunts him from the back of his mind.

"You _will fail_ "

The Alchemist takes a screwdriver and sets back to work.

_Another failure._

Antauri sighs. Well, not really. He doesn`t have the lungs to properly exhale breath anymore, but the motion helps him cope with the disaster in front of the mirror, as a slightly more brown version of himself stares back. So, the sulfur solution hadn`t work either. Another one to cross off the list, along with hair dye, acrylic paint, marker ink, natural char and aniline.

Disappointed, he walks to the corner of his room, where a mixture of baking soda and lemon was waiting for him in case a flop like this would happen. He takes the toothbrush and starts rubbing off the stained metal. He really trusted that the oxidant would work. He was hoping for at least an aged silver effect, not battered rust.

Antauri had secretly been trying to go back to his original color for over a year now, to no avail. Is not that he didn’t like the silver metal, is just that he didn’t like it _for himself_. It was too shiny, too clear, and too.... _flamboyant_. He would never admit it out loud, but he felt terribly nostalgic for his old fur.

... And for being able to feel, and taste, and breath and-

He cut those thoughts as soon as they started. Antauri was incredibly grateful for the second chance Chiro had given him, and he wasn't going to complain to whatever cosmic deity capable of twisting the natural order for this minor inconvenience. He knew exactly what he was getting into when he sacrificed himself to stop the Hatching of the Dark One, and he had dutifully accepted it. It was such a small price to pay for the gift of life....

But he really missed his old body.

The foamy mixture easily washed up the tarnish, and the lustrous argentum came back to full force. To be fair, he knew this was some extremely advanced alloy and not silver per se, but still...

_Another failure._

Mandarin heard the jetpack approaching. During their first encounters, Antauri had made sure to be as stealthy as possible, but in the last few weeks he was beginning to relax. In Mandarin's judgment, that was one of his greatest weaknesses: his trust. And tonight, that trust was a weakness he was going to exploit. With a dangerous smile, he gave the finishing touches to his trap. Just a few seconds now...

Antauri made his way through the cave as usual, this time bringing with him five small pizzas, all with different toppings. Lately, both of them had been hooked up with a reality show about a young successful man and his quest to pick his next girlfriend from a dozen of equally beautiful and naive girls. Tonight it was the end of the season, and they`ve made bets about who the grand winner was going to be.

"I’m here Mandarin", Antauri said as he entered the room. It had taken a lot of reproaching, but his ex-leader had reluctantly started to keep a cleaner environment, and thanks to Antauri sneaking-in some disused furniture from the Super Robot, the cave was slowly beginning to look a lot more like a livable home.

"Well, hello there" Mandarin said, voice filled with treachery.

Antauri stopped short. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Mandarin was sitting on the couch as usual, but this time facing directly the entrance. He rested his chin on intertwined fingers, and his eyes shone with Machiavellian intent.

In a fraction of a second, Antauri tried to use his mind eye to search for any potential dangers, but he could not perceive any. But the uneasy feeling was still there, and he didn’t dare to make a move. He inspected Mandarin carefully, and then, tangled between his fingers, he spotted it.

A trigger.

Mandarin noticed. His grin grew sharply. "Good night Antauri"

Antauri tried to react in time, but he was too slow. He heard a chord snapping, something metallic hitting his head, and then... Black.

"Ha Ha!" Mandarin exclaimed, more words than actual laugh "And with that, I declare myself as the Winner of the Day of Fools! How does that feel heh?" he proudly stood up over the couch, beaming excitedly.

Antauri blinked twice. At his feet, an empty metal bucket rolled forceless by the floor, leaving a streak of black paint. The same black paint that covered him now, head to toe. Desperately, he started making a mental list of any possible poisons that could make him malfunction or toxic chemicals that ma-

Wait a second. `Day of the Fools?`

"Mandarin... is this supposed to be a joke?" This was new. His ex-leader had never really grasped the concept of Aprils Fools. He had yet to understand it wasn`t a death match.

"A Joke?! No, dear friend. This is revenge. I still haven`t forgotten about how the last Day of Fools you lot criminalized my battle vest. Maybe I can`t repay to the rest of the Hyperforce, but I will be content with executing you for now" Mandarin caressed his beard with delight. He had been planning this moment weeks in advance. He`d checked the television catalog to look for specials shows that would air tonight. He has lead Antauri to like "The Bachelor" so he knew he`d show up for the season finale. He had slowly acquired all the elements required to... Why was Antauri smiling like that?

"And what exactly is this paint?" He said, checking himself. Now that most of the liquid had finished dripping down, the matte black finish clinged to his metal frame effortlessly, perfectly covering any trace of silver.

"N..Nail polish. Industrial Grade, you won’t be able to get rid of it anytime soon!" Mandarin said with fake confidence. It was a lie of course; he had also brought several bottles of polish remover. He couldn`t risk Antauri getting caught, after all. But this wasn`t the reaction he was waiting for. He was supposed to fall in despair, and then he`d try to take it off by any means possible, and Mandarin would laugh at his disgrace. Instead he looked rather... pleased? That could not be.

"I see" Antauri responded, "Thank you".

Mandarin stood there, perplexed.

What a failure all of this has been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, he used the polish remover to get back to his original silver before returning to the hyperforce, but he was very, very happy for about three hours or so


	3. A watched pot never boils - Part one

_chakk-chackk-chak-chak beep-click-clack chak-a-chak-akk-chk-chk-chk_

No, that wasn`t right at all. Maybe with a little more pressure on the left side?

_chakk- click-clack clack -chak beep-click-clack chak-a-chak-akk-chk-chk-chk_

That was a lot better, but still not quite there…

_chakk- click-clack clack -chak beep-click-clack chak- beep--akk- click-clack –chk_

There it was! That perfect sweet spot Otto loved to hear in his engines. Satisfied, he pushed the rolling stretcher from below the buggy, emerging in his garage.

For an outsider, the workshop might look like a pile of tools, gears, blueprints, cranes and heavy machinery vying for space in the cramped room. The floor was stained with grease and scratches, and there was the persistent smell of fuel. Dismounted engines were transformed into pistons, cylinders, distributors and alternators. A tangle of utensils and gadgets lined the walls, some of the most advanced instruments in this side of the galaxy sat next to a basic hammer.

For Otto, it was a work of love. Not a single screw was left unused at the end of the day. He knew that the most spectacular mechanism could fail if so much as a the smallest nut was misadjusted, and he made sure to treat all his creations with care and tenderness.

He took a old rag and wiped his face clean of oil and sweat. The clock read twelve o'clock, but he didn`t care. He loved staying up until the wee hours of the morning, just him and his machines. There was a special kind of peace that let him focus on the small details.

There was a flop side though: it was a rather lonely job.

Don`t get him wrong; he liked to be able to concentrate in the task at hand, and to be fair, nobody really ever came down to the workshop at least that something serious was broken. But he missed to have some silent company by his side, and the last time that had happened had been many, many years ago. Nowadays, Chiro was the only one who occasionally visited him while he was working, and it was usually because he wanted to learn about whatever Otto was doing. And he couldn`t be a happier teacher! But still….

His stomach made a whining sound, reminding him that it would be a perfect time for a late night snack. He finished positioning the Protonic Carburetor and made his way to the kitchen.

\----

_Sizzle-sizzle-glug-glug-sizzle-plop_

No, that wasn`t right at all. Maybe with a little more heat on the left side?

_Sizzle- plop-plop - glug-sizzle-glug-glug-sizzle-plop_

That was a lot worse, but maybe it could still be saved …?

_\- glug - plop-plop - glug-sizzle-glug-glug-sizzle-plop - glug -plop_

No, this was definitely a disaster now. As the flames flared, Antauri hastened to put out the incipient fire, taking the burned pan out of the hob. The onions he was supposed to be caramelizing had mutated into petrified black shreds, and it wasn`t the only setback going on the kitchen.

Antauri looked around: the rice was overflowing, the broccoli had taken a rather a worrying red coloration and the mashed potatoes were hard as a rock. Food that was supposed to be crunchy was soggy, the hot meals were getting cold, and the cold ones somehow were burning.

This has been a bad idea. The whole situation was a terrible, regrettable, atrocious idea.

Tonight he was supposed to visit Mandarin for movie night. Well, is not like he was contractually bound to do so, but he had fallen into a routine of meeting on the first Monday and second Wednesday of each month, and always brought something to eat.

He wasn`t obligated of course. This was just something he chose to do, and could easily stop if he wanted. Of course.

But then he felt a pang of guilt. Because Mandarin was all alone in some ratty cave in the middle of nowhere, and he had reached the lowest point possible in his life, and who knows what he`d been through in all this time?

But today was one of the very rare occasions when the city had a non-working holyday, and all the restaurants were closed- No Shuggazoomian had ever missed the chance to stop the daily clockwork-like rhythm of the city.

So, he`d thought this would be the perfect opportunity to bring Mandarin some nutritious, good old fashioned, homemade food. Easy in theory, but the execution had been a…. patchy job. Turns out, taste is a fundamental sense when it comes to cooking. At first, he tried to simply recreate what he remembered from years ago, but those memories had turned out foggy now, so he started just doing what felt right, but then the doubt appeared. Was that enough salt? Was that the right texture? Did it smell good? Out of desperation, he keep trying to add more and more of everything at every thing, until it was too much, and now the whole place was a hot mess. Literally.

Too many things were going wrong at the same time, so he activated his telekinesis to try to solve all at once. Cleaning supplies, vegetables, dairy products, pans, sauces, seasonings, and pots floated in the air in a busy choreography. He needed to evaluate what could be saved and what needed to disappear from this world without traces.

“Why do I even care?“- Antauri thought – “is not like he going to thank me anyway. I have to unstick the rice from the bottom of the pot; I can still use the rest. In the last century he never said `thank you`, why would he change now? The soy sauce spilled over the counter top, I have to clean that now or the stain will remain. More heat over the bell peppers, those are supposed to be burnt; not the champignons. Someone is coming down the hall. Really, would it kill him to say “I appreciate what you do for me” every now and then? Why do keep wasting my time and effort waiting for a change, I already knows he is not going to change. I have to change the water from the almonds. Wash the wooden spoon; we need it clean for the béchamel. Otto is approaching. I shouldn`t even been doing this. Mandarin won`t die for me not showing up, he is a survival expert. Peel off and trim the carrots, where is the peeler? Third drawer I think? No, second. He has gotten away with worse things, he doesn`t really need me. A mop to clean the floor. Have I already put pepper on the rice? No wait, the rice shouldn't be spicy, right? Otto is almost at the entrance. But Mandarin looked so bad, maybe there is a chance that he still come ba… no, he won`t. The dough is ready, I think. It looks ready, at least. Even if he wanted to come back, the team would at the very least imprison him, and they would be in their right minds to do so. Mandarin is a terrible person, and I shouldn`t be helping him. The water is about to boil, turn down the heat. I should stop all of this and go back to my room. The tomatoes shouldn`t be black, they are burning. Why did I put tomatoes in the oven? Why do I keep trying? Wait, Otto is at the-”

_Whoosh_

The door slid open.


End file.
